


Threat from Within

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Series: AK ficlets [17]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pope POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-14 00:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20183074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Pope finds out that Adrian's been talking to the Feds





	Threat from Within

He didn’t hear anything for a long while after Smurf left. The blood rushing in his ears drowned everything else out. Distantly, he recognized J trying to get his attention and Angela slipping out of the back door but he didn’t have the energy or thought to process it.

Adrian was talking to the Feds. Deran’s boyfriend was talking to the cops about his family. And Deran _knew_ it. 

Smurf said she gave Deran time to handle it himself but that it was now his turn. Pope almost laughed in her face. She should know better than to ever think Deran could handle this. 

It was dark when he finally decided to move. He hadn’t quite decided what to do about Adrian but he knew he had to talk to Deran. He had to know how long Deran had known and what exactly was his plan to-

Pope stopped short halfway to his car as his brain started putting the pieces together. 

Colby.

Deran had shot Colby, a man Pope knew had been unarmed, and he hadn’t regretted. Deran, his little brother who vehemently rejected the idea of murder anytime someone brought it up. Deran, the so-called ‘Nice Cody’ who was by far the least violent of any of them. He’d murdered a man in cold blood and refused to admit why.

Well Pope had a pretty good idea why. 

He forced his feet to start moving and was behind the wheel of his guy before he could blink. The drive to the Drop was quick, or maybe it was long, Pope didn’t really remember. 

Noise assaulted him when he threw the doors open but he ignored it. He ignored everything as he stalked towards the office and burst in.

It was empty.

Pope let out a noise and whirled around, stalking towards the bar. “Where’s Deran?” He almost growled at the bartender. She took a wary step back.

“He hasn’t been in tonight.”

Pope grunted in thanks and stalked back out to his car, this time heading for Deran and Adrian’s house.

The scout was parked out front next to a car he didn’t recognize. Pope eyed it carefully as he walked past, taking in the details and the license plate in case he needed it later. He didn’t bother knocking as he walked straight in the front door.

Deran and Adrian were standing on opposite sides of the living room, their bodies tense. Pope got the sense that they might have been yelling at each other just before he came in.

He didn’t care.

He stared Adrian down as he spoke to Deran. “I talked to Smurf.”

Deran instantly took a step to his right to put himself between Pope and Adrian. “Adrian, get out of here,” he ordered quietly. If Pope had had any doubt that Deran knew, he didn’t anymore.

Adrian looked between the two Cody brothers and disappeared out the back door without a word. The slide of the door shutting sounded incongruous given the tension in the room.

“Pope-”

“How long have you known?” Pope asked.

Deran raised his chin and stared him down. “Does it matter? What are you going to do, Pope?”

“We have to protect our family.”

“Adrian’s not a threat.”

“He’s talking to the Feds!” Pope burst out, taking a step towards Deran. Deran flinched but he stood his ground.

“Yes,” Deran confirmed. “But not about us.”

Pope paused. “What do you mean?”

“He got caught smuggling coke for Jack a while back and tried to get a plea deal but turning on Jack and his supplier. That’s how they all got picked up a few weeks ago.”

“That was Adrian?”

“Yeah.”

Pope looked at Deran and then looked away. “Smurf said he’s talking to the cops about us.”

“They approached him,” Deran admitted quietly. “They pulled his original plea deal and told him he’d only get another one if he ratted on me. He told them no. Now he’s staring down 15 years minimum.”

“That’s a lot of motivation, Deran. Adrian won’t do well in prison.”

Deran flinched harder this time, his body seeming to curl in on itself briefly before he squared his shoulders. “I’ve been trying to fix it.”

“How?”

“Going after the DEA agent.”

“You can’t go after a cop, Deran. Especially not a Fed.”

Deran closed his eyes briefly. “I know. I didn’t. I wanted to- I wanted to do _something_ but it wouldn’t have done any good. The deal’s in Pearce’s hands now.”

Pope didn’t say anything for a while. “He may not have talked yet but there’s still time. A lot of time, really.”

Deran shook his head. “He won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do!” Deran yelled, taking a step towards Pope. “He won’t talk! I fucking told him to and he still won’t do it.”

“What?” Pope’s voice was low.

Deran grabbed at the back of his head with both hands. “I can’t let him go down for 15 years, Pope. I told him to tell the cops everything they wanted to know about me but he won’t do it.”

“Does he know you killed Colby for him?”

Deran’s head snapped up, his eyes wide. “Why would you-”

“He found out Adrian was snitching, right? He threatened him so you killed him.”

Deran swallowed. “No.”

“There’s no other reason-”

“I meant no, he doesn’t know.” Deran cut him off. “He doesn’t know.” He repeated softly.

“Deran,” Adrian’s voice was soft but it rang loudly in the silent room. Both Deran and Pope jerked in surprise, their heads turning towards the doorway to the bedroom to find Adrian leaning against the frame, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched.

“What are you- I told you to get out of here!” Deran’s voice was almost panicky.

“I know,” Adrian replied. “But I figured if you two were going to discuss which one of you takes me out to the desert and puts a bullet in my head, I might as well listen in.”

“Adrian-” Deran took a step towards him.

“Did you really kill Colby?” 

Deran stopped. Pope stared at the back of his head, watching him visibly think it through.

“Deran-” Pope warned.

“Yes.” Deran’s voice was firm.

Pope shook his head. 

“I can tell you where I buried him and you can go tell the cops.”

Adrian looked away. “And Ox?”

Pope circled the island in the kitchen, coming up next to Adrian. From his new angle he could see both of their faces. They were fixed on each other.

“No. Ox and Colby pulled a job that went bad. They came here to get patched up and I sent them to Mexico. I guess they got there too later. But I didn’t have anything to do with his death.”

“Just Colby’s.” Adrian’s voice was blank. Pope blinked. Adrian was a generally terrible liar. Whatever he was thinking was usually written clear across his face but not this time. This time, Pope couldn’t read him at all.

“Yeah,” Deran confessed. He laughed humorlessly. “He was gonna tell Pope that you were talking to the Feds.” His laugh turned slightly hysterical. Pope blinked in surprise. Not only had Deran killed to protect his boyfriend, he’d killed to protect his boyfriend _from Pope_. 

Pope took a step towards Adrian almost without thinking and Deran instantly crossed the room to plant his body in between them again. Adrian straightened up behind him, his body tense as if preparing to run.

“Don’t touch him, Pope.”

Pope looked at his little brother, really _looked_. He took in the way Deran, his body still busted from their last job, literally stood up to him. In all their years, Deran had never done that. He tended to deal with Pope more indirectly, talking around things, rather than getting in his face. Somehow, Pope knew in that moment that Deran would never not stand between him and Adrian. If Pope decided to take out the threat that Adrian posed to his family, he’d have to take out Deran too.

Pope broke eye contact and looked behind Deran at Adrian. He’d stepped out of the doorway and into the room, his body half turned towards the back door but his other hand reaching out for Deran, his arm hanging awkwardly in mid air.

He took a step back. 

And then another.

With each step, Deran relaxed slightly. When Pope was on the other side of the island, Deran took a step back into Adrian’s touch, like he knew it would be there.

He took one final look at them, Deran leaning into Adrian but not stepping out from in front of him, Adrian’s eyes scared but hard as he stared at Pope over Deran’s shoulder, and turned and left without a word.


End file.
